At the end of 862, the prince of Great Moravia (the state of the Western Slavs), Rostislav, turned to the Byzantine emperor Michael with a request to send preachers to Moravia who could spread Christianity in the Slavic language (sermons in those parts were read in Latin, unfamiliar and incomprehensible people).
863 is considered the year of birth of the Slavic alphabet.
The creators of the Slavic alphabet were the brothers Cyril and Methodius.
Emperor Michael sent the Greeks to Moravia - the scientist Constantine the Philosopher (the name Cyril Constantine received when he became a monk in 869, and with this name he went down in history) and his older brother Methodius.
The choice was not random. The brothers Constantine and Methodius were born in Thessalonica (in Greek, Thessaloniki) in the family of a military commander, received a good education. Cyril studied in Constantinople at the court of the Byzantine emperor Michael III, knew Greek, Slavic, Latin, Hebrew, Arabic languages well, taught philosophy, for which he received the nickname Philosopher. Methodius was on military service, then for several years he ruled one of the regions inhabited by the Slavs; subsequently retired to a monastery.
In 860, the brothers had already made a trip to the Khazars for missionary and diplomatic purposes.
To be able to preach Christianity in the Slavic language, it was necessary to make a translation Holy Scripture into Slavic; however, the alphabet capable of conveying Slavic speech did not exist at that moment.
Constantine set about creating the Slavic alphabet. Methodius, who also knew the Slavic language well, helped him in his work, since a lot of Slavs lived in Thessalonica (the city was considered half-Greek, half-Slavic). In 863, the Slavic alphabet was created (the Slavic alphabet existed in two versions: the Glagolitic alphabet - from the verb - “speech” and the Cyrillic alphabet; scientists still do not have a consensus which of these two options was created by Cyril). With the help of Methodius, a number of liturgical books were translated from Greek into Slavonic. The Slavs got the opportunity to read and write in their own language. The Slavs had not only their own, Slavic, alphabet, but also the first Slavic literary language, many words of which still live in Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian and other Slavic languages.
After the death of the brothers, their activities were continued by their students, who were expelled from Moravia in 886,
in the South Slavic countries. (In the West, the Slavic alphabet and Slavic literacy did not survive; Western Slavs - Poles, Czechs ... - still use the Latin alphabet). The Slavic literacy was firmly established in Bulgaria, from where it spread to the countries of the southern and Eastern Slavs(IX century). Writing came to Russia in the 10th century (988 - the baptism of Russia).
The creation of the Slavic alphabet was and still is of great importance for the development of Slavic writing, Slavic peoples, Slavic culture.
The Bulgarian Church established the day of memory of Cyril and Methodius - May 11, according to the old style (May 24, according to the new style). Bulgaria also established the Order of Cyril and Methodius.
May 24 in many Slavic countries, including in Russia, is a holiday of Slavic writing and culture.
Cyril (in the world Constantine) (c.827-869)
Methodius (815-885) Slavic enlighteners
Associated with the names of two enlightenment brothers major event in the history of Slavic culture - the invention of the alphabet, which gave rise to Slavic writing.
Both brothers came from the family of a Greek military leader and were born in the city of Thessalonica (modern Thessaloniki in Greece). The elder brother, Methodius, entered the military service in his youth. For ten years he was the manager of one of the Slavic regions of Byzantium, and then left his post and retired to a monastery. In the late 860s, he became abbot of the Greek monastery of Polychron on Mount Olympus in Asia Minor.
Unlike his brother, Cyril from childhood was distinguished by a craving for knowledge and as a boy he was sent to Constantinople to the court of the Byzantine Emperor Michael III. There he received an excellent education, studied not only Slavic, but also Greek, Latin, Hebrew and even Arabic. Subsequently, he refused public service and was tonsured a monk.
For several years, Kirill worked as a librarian for Patriarch Photius, and then was appointed teacher at the court school. Already at this time, he had a reputation as a talented writer. On behalf of the patriarch, he wrote polemical speeches and participated in religious disputes.
Upon learning that his brother had become abbot, Cyril left Constantinople and went to the monastery of Polychron. Cyril and Methodius spent several years there, after which they made their first trip to the Slavs, during which they realized that in order to spread Christianity, it was necessary to create a Slavic alphabet. The brothers returned to the monastery, where they began this work. It is known that only the preparation for the translation of sacred books into Slavonic took them more than three years.
In 863, when the Byzantine emperor, at the request of the Moravian prince Rostislav, sent the brothers to Moravia, they had just begun translating the main liturgical books. Naturally, such a grandiose work would have dragged on for many years if a circle of translators had not formed around Cyril and Methodius.
In the summer of 863, Cyril and Methodius arrived in Moravia, already in possession of the first Slavonic texts. However, their activities immediately aroused the dissatisfaction of the Bavarian Catholic clergy, who did not want to cede their influence over Moravia to anyone.
In addition, the appearance of Slavonic translations of the Bible contradicted the catholic church, according to which church service was supposed to take place in Latin, and the text of Holy Scripture was not to be translated into any languages at all, with the exception of Latin.
Therefore, in 866, Cyril and Methodius had to go to Rome at the call of Pope Nicholas I. In order to earn his blessing, the brothers brought to Rome the relics of St. Clement, which they discovered during their first trip to the Slavs. However, while they were getting to Rome, Pope Nicholas I died, so the brothers were taken over by his successor, Adrian II. He appreciated the benefits of the enterprise they had conceived and not only allowed them to worship, but also tried to achieve their initiation into church positions. Negotiations about this dragged on for a long time. At this time, Cyril unexpectedly dies, and only Methodius, at the direction of the Pope, was consecrated to the rank of archbishop of Moravia and Pannonia.
With the permission of Adrian II, he returned to Moravia, but was never able to start his activities, because the Salzburg Archbishop Adalvin, taking advantage of the unexpected death of Pope Adrian, summoned Methodius to himself, ostensibly for an introduction, and then arrested him and put him in prison. Methodius spent three years there and only at the insistence of the new Pope, John VIII, was he released. True, he was again forbidden to conduct worship in the Slavic language.
Returning to Pannonia, Methodius violated this rule, settled in Moravia, where he was engaged in translations of sacred books and continued to perform divine services. For six years, the group of students he created did a great job: they not only completed the translation into Slavonic of all the books of the Holy Scriptures, but also translated key documents who compiled the collection Nomokannon. It was a collection of decrees that determined the norms for the celebration of worship and all church life.
The activities of Methodius caused new denunciations, and he was again summoned to Rome. However, Pope John VIII realized that nothing could prevent the spread of the Slavic alphabet, and once again allowed Slavic worship. True, at the same time he excommunicated Methodius from the Catholic Church.
Methodius returned back to Moravia, where he continued his activities. Only in 883 did he again go to Byzantium, and on his return he continued to work, but soon died, leaving as his successor a student named Gorazd.
To this day, the disputes of scientists about what kind of alphabet Cyril created - Cyrillic or Glagolitic - do not subside. The difference between them is that Glagolitic is more archaic in lettering, while Cyrillic turned out to be more convenient for conveying sound features. Slavic language. It is known that in the 9th century both alphabets were in use, and only at the turn of the 10th-11th centuries. Glagolitic has practically fallen out of use.
After the death of Cyril, the alphabet invented by him got its current name. Over time, the Cyrillic alphabet became the basis of all Slavic alphabets, including Russian.
May 24 - Memorial Day of Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius, Enlighteners of the Slavs.
This is the only church and state holiday that has been declared the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture.
WHAT THEY PRAY FOR THE HOLY EQUAL TO THE APOSTS CYRIL AND METHODIUS
Byzantine monks Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius are the creators of the Slavic alphabet. They help in teaching, they are prayed for the preservation of the Slavic peoples in true faith and piety, for protection from false teachings and heterodoxy.
It must be remembered that icons or saints do not "specialize" in any particular area. It will be right when a person turns with faith in the power of God, and not in the power of this icon, this saint or prayer.
and .
LIFE OF SAINTS CYRIL AND METHODIUS
Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius were brothers. Methodius was the eldest of the children in the family (born in 820), and Constantine (in monasticism Cyril) was the youngest (born in 827). They were born in Macedonia, in the city of Thessalonica (now Thessaloniki), brought up in a wealthy family, their father was a military leader in the Greek army.
Saint Methodius, like his father, began military service. With his zeal in business, he won the respect of the king and was appointed governor in Slavinia, one of the Slavic principalities subordinate to Greece. Here he got acquainted with the Slavic language and studied it, which later helped him become a spiritual teacher and pastor of the Slavs. After 10 years of successful career, Methodius decided to renounce earthly vanity, left the province and became a monk.
His brother, Konstantin, from childhood showed his dedication to the sciences. He, together with Tsarevich Michael, studied in Constantinople and received a good education. Together they studied literature, philosophy, rhetoric, mathematics, astronomy, and music. But the lad showed the greatest zeal for theology. One of his religious teachers was the future Patriarch Photius of Constantinople. Even in his youth, the saint learned by heart the works of Gregory the Theologian. Constantine begged Saint Gregory to be his mentor.
After completing his studies, Saint Constantine (Cyril) received the rank of priest and was appointed librarian in the patriarchal library, which was attached to the Church of Saint Sophia. But, despite this appointment, he went to one of the monasteries, from which he was almost forcibly returned to Constantinople and appointed as a teacher of philosophy at school.
Regardless of his age, Constantine managed to defeat in the debate the mature Greek Patriarch Annius (Iannes), who was an iconoclast and did not recognize the icons of saints. Subsequently, he was removed from the patriarchal throne.
Then Cyril went to his brother Methodius and for several years was a monk in a monastery on Olympus. In this monastery there were many Slavic monks, here, with their help, he learned the Slavic language.
After spending some time in the monastery, both holy brothers, by order of the emperor, went to preach the Gospel to the Khazars. During this trip, they stopped at Korsun, where, according to Saint Cyril, the relics of St. Clement, Pope of Rome, who was exiled to Korsun for the confession of Christ and, by order of Emperor Trajan in 102, were found and raised from the seabed, were cast into the sea, where stayed for over 700 years.
In addition, while in Korsun, Saint Constantine found the Gospel and the Psalter, which were written in "Russian letters." And from a person who spoke Russian, he began to learn this language.
While preaching the Gospel teaching to the Khazars, the holy brothers faced "competition" from the Jews and Muslims, who also tried to attract the Khazars to their faith. But through their sermons, they won the victory.
Returning back from Korsun, the Lord helped them to work miracles:
– Being in a hot desert, Saint Methodius drew water from a bitter lake, and it suddenly became sweet and cold. The brothers, together with their companions, quenched their thirst and thanked the Lord who had performed this miracle;
- St. Cyril, with God's help, predicted the death of the Archbishop of Korsun;
- in the city of Philly, a large oak tree grew, fused with cherries, which, according to the pagans, after their requests, gave rain. But Saint Cyril persuaded them to recognize God and accept the Gospel. Then the tree was cut down, and after that, by the will of God, it began to rain at night.
At that time, ambassadors from Moravia came to the Greek emperor and asked for help and protection from the German bishops. The emperor decided to send Saint Constantine because the saint knew the Slavic language:
“You need to go there, because no one will do it better than you”
With prayer and fasting, Saints Constantine, Methodius and their disciples began this great work in 863. They created the Slavic alphabet, translated the Gospel and the Psalter from Greek into Slavonic.
After this blessed work was completed, the holy brothers went to Moravia, where they began teaching the Divine Service in the Slavic language. This circumstance made the German bishops very angry, they argued that God should be glorified only in Hebrew, Greek or Latin. For this, Cyril and Methodius began to call them Pilates, so Pilate made a tablet on the Lord's Cross in three languages: Hebrew, Greek, Latin.
They sent a complaint against the holy brothers to Rome, and in 867, Pope Nicholas I called the "culprits" to trial.
Saints Constantine and Methodius, taking the relics of Pope Saint Clement on their way, set off for Rome. Upon arrival in the capital, they learned that Nicholas I had died by that time, and Adrian II had become his successor. The Pope, having learned that they brought the relics of St. Clement, solemnly received the brothers and approved the service in the Slavic language. And the books that were translated, he consecrated and ordered to put in the Roman churches and celebrate the Liturgy in the Slavic language.
In Rome, Saint Constantine had a wonderful vision of the approach of death. He accepted the schema with the name Cyril and on February 14, 869, 50 days later, at the age of 42, the earthly life of Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril ended.
Before he died, he said to his brother:
“You and I, like a friendly pair of oxen, led the same furrow; I am exhausted, but don’t you think to leave the labors of teaching and retire again to your mountain.”
The Pope ordered the relics of St. Cyril to be placed in the church of St. Clement, where miraculous healings of people began to take place from them.
And the Pope of Rome ordained Saint Methodius Archbishop of Moravia and Pannonia, on the ancient throne of the Holy Apostle Anthrodin, where the saint preached the Gospel among the Slavs and baptized the Czech Prince Borivoi and his wife.
After the death of his brother, Saint Methodius did not stop his educational work. With the help of disciple-priests, he translated into Slavonic the entire Old Testament, except for the Maccabean books, as well as the Nomocanon (Rules of the Holy Fathers) and the patristic books (Paterik).
Saint Methodius died on April 6, 885, he was about 60 years old. He was buried in Slavic, Greek and Latin. The saint was buried in the cathedral church of Velehrad, the capital of Moravia.
Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius were canonized as saints in ancient times. The celebration of the memory of the saints, according to the decree of the Holy Synod (1885), is classified as an average church holiday. The same decree determined that, according to the Gospel, at Matins before the canon, at holidays and in all prayers in which the ecumenical saints of the Russian Church are commemorated, after the name of St. Nicholas the Archbishop Myrlikian Wonderworker, names: even in the saints, our father Methodius and Cyril, teachers of Slovenia.
The activities of the enlighteners also influenced the development of the Old Russian language in Russia, therefore in Moscow, on Slavyanskaya Square, in 1992, a monument was opened to the Slavic primary teachers and apostles, Cyril and Methodius, saints not only of the Orthodox Church, but also of the Catholic Church.
Magnification
We magnify you, Holy Apostles Cyril and Methodius, who enlightened all the Slovenian countries with your teachings and led you to Christ.
VIDEO FILM
Can you imagine life without electricity? Of course it's difficult! But it is known that earlier people read and wrote by candlelight and splinter. Imagine life without writing. Some of you will now think to yourself, well, well, that would be great: you don’t have to write dictations and essays. But then there will be no libraries, books, posters, letters, and even Email and "mess". Language, like a mirror, reflects the whole world, our whole life. And when reading written or printed texts, we seem to sit in a time machine and can be transported both to recent times and to the distant past.
But people have not always mastered the art of writing. This art has been developing for a long time, over many millennia. And do you know to whom we should be grateful for our written word, on which our favorite books are written? For our diploma, which we study at school? For our great Russian literature, which you get acquainted with and will continue to study in high school.
Cyril and Methodius lived in the world,
Two Byzantine monks and suddenly
(No, not a legend, not a myth, not a parody)
Some of them thought: “Friend!
How many Slavs without Christ are speechless!
It is necessary to create an alphabet for the Slavs ...
It was thanks to the work of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles brothers Cyril and Methodius that the Slavic alphabet was created.
The brothers were born in Byzantine city Thessalonica in the family of a military leader. Methodius was the eldest son, and, having chosen the path of a military man, he went to serve in one of the Slavic regions. His brother, Cyril, was born 7-10 years later than Methodius, and already in childhood, having passionately fallen in love with science, amazed teachers with his brilliant abilities. At the age of 14, his parents sent him to Constantinople, where he short term studied grammar and geometry, arithmetic, astronomy and medicine, ancient art, well mastered Slavic, Greek, Hebrew, Latin and Arabic. Rejecting the high administrative position offered to him, Cyril took the modest position of a librarian in the Patriarchal Library and at the same time taught philosophy at the university, for which he received the nickname "philosopher". His older brother Methodius entered the military early. For 10 years he was the ruler of one of the regions inhabited by Slavs. Being an honest and straightforward man, intolerant of injustice, he retired from military service and retired to a monastery.
In 863, ambassadors from Moravia arrived in Constantinople to ask them to send preachers to their country and tell the population about Christianity. The emperor decided to send Cyril and Methodius to Moravia. Cyril, before setting off on his journey, asked if the Moravians had an alphabet for their language - “for the enlightenment of the people without the writing of their language is like trying to write on water,” Kirill explained. To which he received a negative answer. The Moravians did not have the alphabet, so the brothers began work. At their disposal were not years, but months. They worked from early morning, barely blossoming, and until late evening, when their eyes were already rippling from fatigue. In a short time, an alphabet for the Moravians was created. It was named after one of its creators - Cyril - Cyrillic.
With the help of the Slavic alphabet, Cyril and Methodius very quickly translated the main liturgical books from Greek into Slavonic. The first book written in Cyrillic was the “Ostromir Gospel”, the first words written using the Slavic alphabet were the phrase “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” And now, for more than a thousand years Church Slavonic used in Russian Orthodox Church during worship.
The Slavic alphabet existed in Russia unchanged for more than seven centuries. Its creators tried to make each letter of the first Russian alphabet simple and clear, easy to write. They remembered that the letters should also be beautiful, so that a person who barely saw them would immediately want to master the letter.
Each letter had its own name - "az" - A; "beeches" - B; "lead" - B; "verb" - G; "good" D.
From here and catchphrases"Az and beeches - that's all the sciences", "" Who knows "Az" and "Beeches" books in his hands. In addition, letters could also denote numbers. In total, there were 43 letters in the Cyrillic alphabet.
The Cyrillic alphabet existed in the Russian language without changes until Peter I, who removed the obsolete letters, without which it was quite possible to do - “yus big”, “yus small”, “omega”, “uk”. In 1918, 5 more letters left the Russian alphabet - “yat”, “fita”, “izhitsa”, “er”, “er”. For a thousand years, many letters have disappeared from our alphabet, and only two have appeared - “y” and “ё”. They were invented in the 17th century by the Russian writer and historian Karamzin. And finally, 33 letters remained in the modern alphabet.
And what do you think, where did the word "AZBUKA" come from - by the name of the first letters of the alphabet, "az" and "beeches"; in Russia, there were several more names for the alphabet - "abevega" and "letter letter".
Why is the alphabet called alphabet? The history of this word is interesting. Alphabet. It was born in ancient greece and consists of the names of the first two letters of the Greek alphabet: "alpha" and "beta". carriers Western languages so they call it: "alphabeta". We pronounce it like the alphabet.
The Slavs were very happy: other peoples of Europe (Germans, Franks, Britons) did not have their own written language. The Slavs now had their own alphabet, and everyone could learn to read a book! “It was a wonderful moment!.. The deaf began to hear, and the dumb began to speak, for until that time the Slavs were like deaf and dumb,” is written in the annals of those times.
Not only children, but also adults began to learn. They wrote with sharp sticks on wooden boards coated with wax. The children fell in love with their teachers Cyril and Methodius. Little Slavs went to classes with joy, because the journey along the roads of Truth was so interesting!
With the advent of the Slavic alphabet, written culture began to develop rapidly. Books appeared in Bulgaria, Serbia, and Russia. And how they were designed! The first letter - the initial letter - began each new chapter. The initial letter is unusually beautiful: in the form of a beautiful bird or flower, it was painted with bright, often red flowers. That is why the term “red line” exists today. A Slavic handwritten book could be created within six or seven years and was very expensive. In a precious salary, with illustrations, today it is a real monument of art.
A long time ago, when the history of the great Russian state was just beginning, "she" was expensive. Her one could be exchanged for a herd of horses or a herd of cows, for sable fur coats. And the point here is not in the decorations in which the beautiful and clever girl was dressed up. And she walked only in expensive embossed leather, in pearls and precious stones! Gold and silver clasps adorned her outfit! Admiring her, people said: “Light, you are ours!” They worked on its creation for a long time, but its fate could have been very sad. During the invasion of enemies, she was taken prisoner along with people. She could have died in a fire or a flood. She was greatly valued: she inspired hope, returned strength of mind. What kind of curiosity is this. Yes, folks, this is Her Majesty the Book. She has preserved to us the Word of God and the traditions of distant years. The first books were handwritten. It took months and sometimes years to rewrite one book. The centers of book learning in Russia have always been monasteries. There, in fasting and prayer, industrious monks copied and decorated books. A collection of books in 500-1000 manuscripts was considered a rarity.
Life goes on, and in the middle of the XVI century book printing appeared in Russia. The printing house in Moscow appeared under Ivan the Terrible. It was led by Ivan Fedorov, who is called the first book printer. Being a deacon and serving in the temple, he tried to realize his dream - to rewrite sacred books without scribes. And so, in 1563, he set about typesetting the first page of the first printed book, The Apostle. In total, he published 12 books in his life, among them was the complete Slavic Bible.
The Slavic alphabet is amazing and is still considered one of the most convenient systems letters. And the names of Cyril and Methodius, "the first teachers of Slovenia", became a symbol of spiritual achievement. And every person who studies the Russian language should know and keep in his memory the holy names of the first Slavic enlighteners brothers Cyril and Methodius.
Across wide Russia - our mother
The bell ringing is spreading.
Now brothers Saints Cyril and Methodius
They are glorified for their work.
“Learning is light, and ignorance is darkness,” says a Russian proverb. Cyril and Methodius, brothers from Thessalonica, are Slovenian enlighteners, creators of the Slavic alphabet, preachers of Christianity. They are called holy teachers. Enlighteners are those who bring light and illuminate everyone with it. Without the alphabet, there is no writing, and without it there is no book that enlightens people, and therefore moves life forward. Monuments to the great enlighteners around the world remind us of the spiritual feat of Cyril and Methodius, who gave the world the Slavic alphabet.
In memory of the great feat of Cyril and Methodius, on May 24, the Day of Slavic Literature is celebrated all over the world. In the year of the millennium from the date of creation Slavic writing in Russia, the Holy Synod adopted a resolution that established “every year, starting from this year 1863, on May 11 (24) the church celebration of Reverend Cyril and Methodius. Until 1917, Russia celebrated religious holiday Day of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Brothers Cyril and Methodius. With coming Soviet power this great holiday was forgotten. In 1986 it was revived. This holiday began to be called the Day of Slavic Literature and Culture.
Quiz
1. Who created the Slavic alphabet? (Cyril and Methodius)
2. What year is considered the year of the emergence of Slavic writing and book business? (863)
3. Why are Cyril and Methodius called "Thessalonica brothers"? (Birthplace of the brothers-enlighteners the city of Thessalonica in Macedonia)
4. Who was the elder brother: Cyril or Methodius? (Methodius)
5. What was the name of the first book written in Cyrillic? (Ostromir Gospel)
6. Which of the brothers was a librarian, and who was a warrior? (Cyril is a librarian, Methodius is a military leader,)
7. What was Cyril called for his mind and diligence? (Philosopher)
8. In whose reign the Slavic alphabet was changed - simplified. (Peter 1)
9. How many letters were there in Cyrillic before Peter the Great? (43 letters)
10. How many letters have become in the modern alphabet? (33 letters)
11. Who was the first printer in Russia? (Ivan Fedorov)
12. What was the name of the first printed book? ("Apostle")
13. What words were first written in the Slavic language? (In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God)
Great Moravia, religious sermons were distributed in Latin. For the people, this language was incomprehensible. Therefore, the prince of the state, Rostislav, turned to Michael, the emperor of Byzantium. He asked to send preachers to him in the state who would spread Christianity in the Slavic language. And Emperor Michael sent two Greeks - Constantine the Philosopher, who later received the name Cyril, and Methodius, his older brother.
Cyril and Methodius were born and brought up in the city of Thessalonica in Byzantium. There were seven children in the family, Methodius was the eldest, and Konstantin (Cyril) the youngest. Their father was a military leader. From childhood, they knew one of the Slavic languages, since the Slavic population, quite large in number, lived in the vicinity of the city. Methodius was in military service, after the service he ruled the Byzantine principality, which was inhabited by the Slavs. And soon, after 10 years of reign, he went to the monastery and became a monk. Cyril, since he showed big interest to linguistics, studied science at the court of the Byzantine emperor with the best scientists of that time. He knew several languages - Arabic, Hebrew, Latin, Slavic, Greek, and also taught philosophy - hence his nickname Philosopher. And the name Cyril was received by Constantine when he became a monk in 869 after his severe and prolonged illness.
Already in 860, the brothers twice went on a missionary mission to the Khazars, then Emperor Michael III sent Cyril and Methodius to Great Moravia. And the Moravian prince Rostislav called on the brothers for help, as he sought to limit the growing influence on the part of the German clergy. He wanted Christianity to be preached in Slavonic, not Latin.
Holy Scripture had to be translated from Greek so that Christianity was preached in the Slavic language. But there was one catch - there was no alphabet that could convey Slavic speech. And then the brothers set about creating the alphabet. Methodius made a special contribution - he knew the Slavic language perfectly. And thus, in 863, the Slavic alphabet appeared. And Methodius soon translated many liturgical books, including the Gospel, the Psalter and the Apostle, into the Slavic language. The Slavs had their own alphabet and language, now they could write and read freely. So Cyril and Methodius, the creators of the Slavic alphabet, made a huge contribution to culture Slavic people, because until now many words from the Slavic language live in Ukrainian, Russian and Bulgarian. Konstantin (Cyril) created the Glagolitic alphabet, which reflected the phonetic features of the language. But until now, scientists cannot agree on a common opinion, whether the Glagolitic alphabet or Cyrillic alphabet were created by Methodius.
But among the Western Slavs - Poles and Czechs - slavic alphabet and literacy did not take root, and they still use the Latin alphabet. After the death of Cyril, Methodius continued their activities. And when he also died, their students were expelled from Moravia in 886 and banned there. Slavic writing, but they continued to spread the Slavic literacy in the countries of the Eastern and Southern Slavs. Bulgaria and Croatia became their refuge.
These events took place in the 9th century, and writing appeared in Russia only in the 10th century. And there is an opinion that in Bulgaria, on the basis of the “Glagolitic”, the Cyrillic alphabet was created by the students of Methodius, in honor of Cyril.
In Russian Orthodoxy, Cyril and Methodius are called Saints. February 14 is the day of memory of Cyril, and April 6 - Methodius. The dates were not chosen by chance, Saints Cyril and Methodius died on these days.